


An Old Friend Visits

by HonorableBard



Category: Viva Piñata
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-10-24 09:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10738578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HonorableBard/pseuds/HonorableBard
Summary: Allie has been a gardener on Pinata Island for a couple of years when one of her old friends decides its time for a visit





	1. A Life With Little Missing

In the eyes of many people Allie had what could be considered a perfect life. She was able to live on a nice, tropical island that boasted great weather and even better views. One look out any window on Pinata Island was more or less guaranteed to be gorgeous. The island's hills and lush plant life worked together to create a truly picturesque landmass that was known to take the breathe out of all those who looked on. If greenery wasn’t your thing, then you could pack your winter gear and travel into the Pinarctic and gaze into the great glaciers in the hopes of seeing a Jeli, or if snow wasn’t your field of expertise then you also had the option of the Dessert Desert and its pillowing sand sloughing through the winds. On a personal level, Allie typically prefered to stay out of the two unique biomes unless absolutely necessary as being way too hot and way too cold were both things that Allie wasn’t about.

On top of the great location She also had a dream job. If you were to ever ask anyone how unlikely it is to become a pinata farmer they would tell you-- quite angrily too-- that unlikely is used to describe the odds of becoming a nurse, the chances of eternal peace, the probability of finding out the big bang was actually just a prank pulled by God himself that went a bit too far. The likelihood of achieving a goal as lofty as Pinata Farmer were nearly nonexistent due to the island’s location being a secret, most of the land having already been swallowed up by long lasting families and pinata corporations, and the fact that more people seem to believe in Santa Clause than the existence of living paper-mache. And yet, despite all possible statistics that could be gathered, Allie was in fact a gardener on Pinata Island.

The only thing that explicitly made Allie question the path that life had seemed to set out was the distinct memories of all the friends back home. Now sure, anytime that Leafos was willing to take over the garden for a bit was time for her to visit her home and the great people she had left behind. While her friends could certainly have visited her, it was a rather impractical and expensive trip to Pinata Island if you only intended to stay for a weekend. 

Now Allie had made enough friends to not feel lonely, but there is nothing like your childhood friends, or at least that was what she had always thought. As the old phrase goes, “ Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.” There wouldn't even be a problem if the friend that had come hadn't been Ryan.

If you had asked Allie what her thoughts on Ryan were when he was around then her response would be filled with a pure disgust that came, not of malice, but instead from the friendship that they shared. Remarks such as “He is an ass. I wish he would just shut up. He can be so annoying and such a hassle. Oh fuck off Ryan, you know it's true.” 

If you were to ask her what she thought of Ryan when he wasn't around the response would be something closer to, “He is an ass, and I mean that in the nicest way possible”

That’s not to say Allie hated Ryan, it's just that he is an asshole. The world is filled with them, and many of them are rude, disrespectful, and annoying, but that doesn’t make them bad people. An asshole is just like a shitty piece of cake, best enjoyed with other friends. Ryan by himself tended to be a strange experience, but there was little to do now. 

He was here. Arfur had been paid for the room. Ryan’s luggage was brought onto his bed. The ship he had taken has already left port. Dinner was set on the table. And most importantly, he was here.

It had been Leafos’ idea to have a welcoming dinner made from the various produce produced at the farm. Jardinero and Seedos managed to cook the meal while Allie and Leafos gathered up all the ingredients from the garden and any other supplies deemed necessary from Costolots. Storkos had been invited to dinner, but apparently the day Ryan showed up was a “special” night for Candaries all over the island. Ryan himself was being shown a tour of the island courtesy of one of Allie’s trusty Moojoo.

Although, as the Moojoo strolled back onto the farm, Allie realised “trusty” might not have been the best word to describe Ian the Moojoo. Brutal? Yeah, maybe brutal was a more accurate word. “Well,” Allie chimed with a smirk etched on her face, “ how was the tour? I take it you had fun?”

Ryan stepped off the green moose like creature with as much grace as an alcoholic, or a clown, or an alcoholic clown, “That is one scary moose.” Written on Ryan’s face as those few words were whispered was a look of pure shock and terror. All Allie could do was laugh while she led Ryan to the dining room.


	2. Dinner for a Dunce

The five hungry people all sat at the table as dinner began commencing. Laid out on the table itself was a proper bounty of a harvest supplied from Allie’s very own garden featuring fresh corn on the cob, a turnip based borsch, an apple walnut salad with carrot shavings on top mixed with a honey dressing, and a pumpkin pie set off to the side as to suggest it was being saved for dessert. The only thing not straight off the farm was the meat, or at least Ryan was hoping it wasn’t from the farm. Something about pinatas being mostly made of paper made its inclusion in the food pyramid seem unacceptable.

Although the food was certainly eye catching, the majority of Ryan’s focus was held by his dinner companions. First there was Seedos, who seemed slightly off put by Ryan’s presence, not that he blamed the mask wearing acquaintance. After all, it wasn’t every day that islanders received guests from the outside world. Although on further observation it seemed closer to nervousness that Ryan’s visit had inspired. Next was Jardinero, an older man in a motorized wheel chair. He gave off an air of superiority upon his initial greeting, and while many questions sprung up in his mind, Ryan figured he wouldn’t be able to scrounge together answers from speaking to him. Perhaps Allie could offer more. Following the old man, Ran’s eyes fell on Leafos. Unlike the other people wearing masks at the table Leafos had been courteous to their guest and had freely given information on anything that seemed noteworthy, although as his first day had dragged on Ryan had begun to suspect that this may be more so due to her being a gossip than to her being a kind host.

Lastly there was Allie. Physically there hadn’t been much change since they last they had seen, although the farm work had seemed to give a slight tan to what had used to be as pale as printer paper, and if Ryan had to hazard a guess, he would assume muscle definition. Physicality wasn’t what was on his mind though. He looked past the shrewd eyes of his friend and wondered if anything lying within her personality had changed. 

“How long have you two been friends for?” Leafos asked just as people had started to get their plates situated. In Ryan’s mind this had all but proven his assumption of her being a gossiper.

“Well, Allie the Pallie and I have known each other since tenth grade,” Allie’s eyes had rolled at the mention of the old epithet, although with its mention a wave of familiarity swept across the mood of the room, “although I think it would be fair to say that we weren’t truly friends till the following year.”

Allie passed the salad over to Leafos, making sure that the garden’s steward didn’t drop it, “I assume you’re talking about the plays. I still can’t believe that I had to call you my dad.”

“You know for a fact that I was the best dad you’ve ever had,” Ryan’s proclamation, while slightly loud had done nothing more than cause Allie to shake her head, “ --well by that I obviously meant aside from the guy who helped create you. I’m the second best,” and this time Allie’s eyes very noticeably darted from Ryan to Jardinero as if to say, ‘Actually’. “Okay, maybe I was going a bit far, but there is no way I’m not third,” unfortunately for Ryan rather than assure him of the greatness of his portrayal as a father, Allie merely looked on in a pained faux apologetic way. In truth, Allie gleaned a sadistic sense of satisfaction from Ryan’s dismay, “ and it seems that I’m not the third...”

After a brief moment of silence in honor of Ryan’s lost dignity, not that there had been much to lose, the small talk returned and warmth spread throughout the table as their conversation grew in mirth. 

As their dinner was almost off of their plates and fully resting in the stomachs of those around the table, the conversation began to pick up more in spirit. Ryan uttered a great big sigh and crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair, “ Man I don’t think I’ve had a meal as good as this since the attack.”

While Ryan had left that statement hanging, this arouse some curiosity within Allie’s mind. She put down her fork and raised her eyebrows upwards, “ Attack? You were attacked and you didn’t just run away like you did whenever I tried to fight you?”

“I wasn’t attacked,” Ryan said as his features formed a look of concern, “ but wait... you’re acting like you don’t know what happened... Wait, you guys don’t get much world news here do you?”

“No,” Allie said, “ we typically don’t. What happened?” There was a brief moment of silence until Allie raised her voice, “ Ryan what happened?”

Ryan took another hard sigh before eyeing the table and refusing to make eye contact, “ Well, I’m sure you remember Shane from high school,” after noticing Allie’s hesitant look Ryan clarified, “ drunk, british Shane? His voice was like smooth velvet rubbing against a microphone,” Allie nodded her head and Ryan continued, “ well he turned out to be a terrorist. He wiped out all of Greenland.”

Allie was naturally skeptical, after all the odds of one of her high school acquaintances personally killing the entire population of a country seemed low, “ How did one terrorist wipe out all of Greenland?” Allie questioned, her voice dripping with disbelief. 

Ryan raised his head and stared on in a wistful glance, “ Well there was something that Shane had been hiding from all of us.”

“Aside from the terrorism?” Jardinero piped up.

“He was a vampire!” everyone had fallen silent, their faces a mix of questionable skepticism and a slight bemusement at the apparent stupidity, “ Dude was a fucking vampire. Shit’s wild.”

Allie’s face scrunched up from the sheer stupidity of whatever amount of mystic bullshit was coming from the dumpster that was Ryan’s mouth, “A vampire?”

“A vampire... He used his vampiric abilities to wreak havoc in Greenland leaving it an empty wasteland. Shane was about to be arrested while working on destroying the great northern Canadian Mounties, but he was slain when a stray steak pierced his heart... I really should have known that he was a vampire,” Allie started to tense up for some unknowable reason, something felt wrong, “ You see I once went to a bar with him to hang out.”

This feeling of fear had returned, but its source was still hard to find, or was it? Shivers ran down Allie’s spine as the realization was made, “ Don’t you dare finish that thought you fucktruck!”

Ryan’s lips turned up into a smirk as he spoke his following words, “--And when we got to the bartender...” Allie felt herself lock up. It was too late, she hadn’t noticed in time. There was no stopping the inevitable folly of Ryan’s actions. The world would one day look back on this as the moment that the Earth had started its decline, and they would view her as the failed hero who had tried their best... But the best just wasn’t enough. Ryan spoke what Allie hoped would be his final words, “ he ordered a Bloody Mary.”

Sighs were heard from all around the table, or at least they would be if not for Ryan’s hyena laugh booming out of his soon to be suffocated throat. Allie was the only one silent. That was until the sound of nails on a chalkboard that was Ryan’s laugh had become too much. Then she spoke, “ Ryan, I swear to god I’ll steal Doc Patches go kart, crash it, and you will be the only one hurt.”

Soon after dinner ended, or more truthfully, when Allie kicked Ryan out of the house, Seedos said he seemed nice, Leafos said he seemed fun, and Jardinero said he seemed like a Jackass. Allie could do nothing but agree with all of them.


	3. May Life Imitate Art

“What's that one called?” Ryan gestured to the horstachio.

“Caitlin,” Allie’s response was one word, as though it stated everything that needed to be said. Calling the horstachio Caitlin was apparently self explanatory. 

This might’ve been due the the fact that the night was far from just starting. It was Ryan’s fifth day on the island and it had been very adventurous. First they had caught a viewing of a cultural play that had been performed on the island for generations. It was about a man who dreams of becoming a god of the new world. He was a morally disconcerting character whose heart was in the right place, but was also a complete egotist who believed that his way was the best. It was a favorite of Allie’s. She had seen it roughly 24 times. Ryan found it to be nothing short of hilarious and while that wasn’t exactly what they had been going for tonally, Allie did think Ryan could audition for the role of the egotist’s freeloader who is merely involved for the lolz 

Following that they had gone to Arfur’s for a round of chocolate cow juice-- not that Allie would ever willingly call it that, but Ryan had tricked her into letting him order it-- and while the milk was good it was also a sleep inducer. This left the two of them to be a bit drowsy and to mistake the nasty jazz music that was being played in the inn for a def leppard cover band, and when they began a mosh pit they were officially kicked out.

They found themselves in Allie’s farm with nothing to do but discuss the politics of the global economy as a whole, or alternatively talk about the pinata names.

Ryan then gestured to the several pretztails, and once again asked their names. Allie without missing a beat, pointed at each individually and said, “ That’s Maria, that’s Claire, Maria, Maria, Claire, Claire, and that’s Maria,” Ryan gave a single look in confusion before Allie responded with, “They’re perf.”

Ryan took that to be enough and moved on to the Dragonache, “That’s Brittany,” as that was said the pinata swooped down and ate a joy candy that was lying there.

In disbelief Ryan stated, “ Da Swoopen Do Da Swollen...”

Allie then looked at Ryan for a split second, “ I was originally going to go with Shenron.”

“And The Weebin Do Da Flowin...” Ryan’s eyes shifted to another pinata that was lying around, but all he could see was a Sqauzzil taking a nap in a hazel nut tree. He pointed at the little guy, “ What about that dude?”

“Oh him...” Allie looked down, whether due to tiredness or shame, it was hard to tell, “His name is Ryan.”

Ryan did a double take. He was confused. This wasn’t the typical dynamic that they shared. Usually they were just dicks while secretly hoping that the other one didn’t feel too offended. This was something more, something sincere. That silent appreciation for the other was something that wasn’t usually expressed in such an open and kind manner. Maybe this was a turning point in their friendship, maybe this was the moment when--

“I named him that because you’re both lazy asswholes with shitty teeth,” Allie flew her head back joyfully, smile on her face, disdain for everything Ryan in her eyes.

Ryan didn’t take this very well. In fact he did not take this well at all. He started choking on his own breath and slipped on the dirt, letting out an offended squeal that sounded like some Swanana fucked a Rashberry up the ass and it didn’t enjoy too much. 

“By the way I don’t think you ever told me when you actually leave,” Allie just stared at Ryan as he pulled himself up, smirk still etched into her features, but at this observation Ryan slipped again.

“I didn’t? That’s odd. I could’ve sworn I did,” Ryan’s face went from confused to vaguely fearful as Allie’s penance stare bore into his very soul. Ryan swallowed his fear-- along with a not insignificant amount of spit-- and spoke to Allie without fear, “ I have a half hour left on the Island.”

Allie went through what seemed to be a wide range of emotions, anger, fear, sadness, anger, distress, anger, but before any other words could be spoken between them Allie walked into the farmhouse, locked herself in the bathroom, and screamed. Allie screamed from frustration, from Ryan’s scatterbrained careless, from the unfortunate circumstances that left a good friend of her’s leaving, but arguably most importantly Allie screamed from the pain of having slammed the bathroom door on her funny bone. After about five minutes Allie left the bathroom and helped prepare for Ryan’s departure. Neither said a word. It seemed as though neither knew what to say, what to do, or if it really mattered. Just before Ryan boarded a boat back to the US, a brief hug was shared, but still no words. 

Allie woke up the next morning tired and slightly confused. She still couldn’t believe that Ryan had left so soon and that he hadn’t even mentioned what was happening until it was too late. Well it was all irrelevant to the greater knowledge that everything had reverted to what could be perceived as a perfect life, but just because it could be perceived as such didn’t mean it was.

Allie set out on the daily chores that came with owning a farm. Allie glanced up at the squazzil named for her friend scurry across several trees, scavenging any food that it could get its buck teeth on. After watching for a minute she noticed Ryan slip a piece of paper into Brittany the Dragonache’s hand, and then the pinata swooped over to where Allie had been standing. The paper was dropped into Allie’s outstretched hands. 

It was a simple page that seemed to have been cut from a journal of sorts. Written on both sides of the paper seemed to be a letter written in green ink. Allie didn’t care for whatever the contents of the letter was, or at least she hadn’t until she realized that it was clearly written in Ryan’s near illegible handwriting.


End file.
